Well, for the permanent attachment of the top casing I guess my good luck ran out, because it proved 'WAY more difficult than the earlier dry-fitting - I still don't know why. What I did know for sure was that I was not going to do it over again - so now to address its shortcomings, left in the aftermath. Most notably, a significant gap remaining along just about the full length of the hull joint:

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As usual I filled the gap with superglue putty (left) - however thinking ahead, I had first laid down some masking ("resists") of of aluminum tape, wherever I didn't want any putty to remain. Particularly in notches (bottom) where the limber "holes" would meet the pressure hull. "Holes" in quotes as they were actually arches, cut into the bottom edge of the casing plating (as opposed to true, isolated holes - which were also present, higher-up on the plating). After the putty bead was sanded flush with the casing, and down to the (tape also protecting the) pressure hull, the blocks of putty covering these tape strips were cut out (right), and all masking removed.

Viewed in just the bare plastic and translucent putty, the result looked perfect - too good to be true - and I gave it a quick overspray of Testors Gloss Black:

Click on Image for FULL-RES

My first-discovered error being the choice of black - the second-worst color (behind white) for checking surfaces - this pic (at full-res) being the only really decent look at the results, overall. In which the cutouts (not yet the full arches, which will be taller) are clearly there, and the casing fairs smoothly to a (now lower) bottom edge (of approximately the thickness of the aluminum tape), against the pressure hull.

Attempts to photograph from either end, all insisted maddeningly on focusing at the same few notches, amidships:

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Which I guess was just as well, since multiple segments both ahead and further aft (left, and right at right), were insufficiently filled and/or smoothed, particularly on the starboard side.

But in point of fact, even the "perfect" stretches of fairing - coincidentally, ideal for a Nautilus SSN-571 or similar, Skate-class nuke - are not correct for an S-boat:

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To be accurate, the top casing should came to a hard crease - with no gap whatsoever - at the joint with the pressure hull, and extend in narrow "foot-plates", flat against the pressure hull (again, proud by about the scale thickness of the aluminum tape), outboard from there. Only now did I realize the putty should have been applied in two runs: first extending the casing downward (with the pressure hull masked), and next forming the foot-plates (with casing masked) - and comprehensive smoothing/finishing, in between.

At this point, to fix the above, ideally I'd simply use a corner-type knife blade to carefully scrape/sculpt the crease right into the putty - which, indeed does comprise a soft, workable plastic - however it can also be crumbly (not to mention sometimes pop right off) when subject to such focused pressure, expecially in small areas. Then again on the plus side: the thick, goopy Testors paint continues to cure - hopefully to further bind the putty, for (at least) somewhat better integrity.

In any case, I haven't (yet) thought of any better solution(s) - other than to scrape/pop everything back off, and redo the entire casing (the right way), after all. Not at all my preferrence, at this point.

So I will probably just wait a few more days, and give the above idea a try.

You can see the basic idea taking shape and of course it's a damn sight more accurate than the resin offerings that exist. So congrats on that aspect.

Cheers,

Don

KickBack in the mail! (LOL)

Posted by Matty on January 7, 2013, 11:49:08, in reply to "Not too shabby"

And rest assured I will dutifully transcribe your complimentary words - for (again, continued) use at any- and every opportunity for self-promotion which may arise!

Seriously, Thanks for the encouragement, Don. Although I know it took a helluva long time to get this far, I think you might be surprised at just how fast the remaining details can all go on, to finish it up. (At least, regarding the hull.)

Detailing/completing the sail master will also proceed quite promptly - but then re-priming the RTV-molding setup, to make copies of it, can be expected (being realistic about it, now) to wait considerably longer.

I guess that will also apply for molding the hull as well, before I can finish off the build, entirely. Still, I'm sure I can promise to show at least a few very cool things completed, between now and then.

After completion of the deck attachment (not shown - basically just tweaking the alignment and then troweling in as much superglue/talcom putty as possible, everywhere) the deck was now seriously ON - and as such, a suitable foundation to support additional elements - notably the casing, seen here being fitted. On each side a continuous strip of 0.030" plasticard was both flexed and temporarily tacked using vertical strips of (aluminum) tape, seen here. Note the limited number of tape strips suggest the points at which the "plating" might later be "spot-welded" (using quick-set superglue), to both tack- and flex the casing during permanent installation.

Not simply straight lengths of plasticard, these side "plates" had each been cut to follow the lines of a paper template (not shown), itself tacked/formed/marked and trimmed, earlier. Which, remarkably, had not proven that complex; the paper very clearly "suggesting" exactly how it "wanted" to go on. For a "natural fit" which - even more remarkably - suggested very good agreement with the appearance of S-18 type boats in all my reference pics and drawings.

Yet betterstill - and something I did not dare dream to hope for: a single template, developed for the starboard side, above, fit just as well on the port side. Here are a couple pics of the plating dry-fit on that other side:

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With apologies for my camera's macro-mode, playing hell with the apparent proportions, I think you can still get the basic idea, regarding the casing. Accordingly, here you can also clearly (again) see the one, substantial inaccuracy contained (on both sides): the straight-line joint forward, descending from the gun platform to the bow. On the real thing, this joint gradually curves downward - however here, on the Revell Nautilus hull, which is more beak-like forward, such a downward curvature of this joint is simply not permitted. (Short of putting the plate sides through some very odd contortions; there is much more to this that I won't go into here, unless anyone out there expresses interest in discussing such additional details.)

Meantime, truth-to-tell I had long been living secretly in fear of precisely the above type of incompatibility ruining all chance for a decent, final resemblance to S-37 - so I was indescribably relieved and gratified to see the compromise developing such that the casing will look (IMO more than) acceptable:

Again, despite my camera macro wreaking havoc on the apparent proportions (not to mention the tape beginning to let go and casing popping off, astern) still I trust you can agree she is going to end up looking unmistakeably like an S-boat. For which - especially now, regarding this casing-to-hull joint-line - I give major credit to all the prior, indespensible shaping, checking and reworking of the pressure hull.

Next planned is to cut the tape along the joint-line, to remove the casing plates and leave a painting mask - in turn producing a color-border, to serve as a guide during final attachment. And enable some major progress, coming up soon.

And that's how the "sausage is being made" - the casing (pun fully intended) - going onto this pig boat!

For ThanksGiving, 2012 - hit a couple items remaining, before permanent attachment of the deck:

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At left, some final filling/smoothing (top) of flaws remaining in the hull - asymmetries which could mess up the appearance of the casing - revealed only now, by the fine-tuned fit of the deck. The border of the deck has been fitted with and a rail (middle, and at right); a continuous "hard point" on which to later attach the side "plating" of the top casing. Note the earlier (now removed) masking of the deck had - in addition to protecting the planking definition from the thick Testors Gloss Black - permitted only this rail to accept paint; so that now, grinding its edge re-exposed white plastic, defining just the top surface in black-against-white. Thus rendered clearly visible, its width could then be shaped/narrowed to a uniform, approximately 0.050"-wide, throughout.

This scheme for casing attachment will force all seams to the sides, outboard - thus extending protection of the all-important deck planking, during sanding/finishing of the casing (you'll see).

The enlarged photo-insets are yet more views attempting to show clearly (really difficult, with everything white-on-white) the crew accessway installations, both fore and aft.

Now final attachment of the deck could begin:

The ends were glued on first - now to require curing, for a week or two - before the central section is to be actually warped just slightly, into perfect alignment, and there secured.

Meantime note the aluminum tape, temporarily holding the deck at each end, also gives a good idea of the very different angles at which the casing will span the gap between deck-edge and pressure hull, at different places on the boat. Which casing installation is (after some minor prep work) the next step, following completion of the deck attachment - all coming along soon, now.

Amid a bit more progress (see below), to get a little better idea what the final appearance will be, I sprayed some Gloss Black from an ancient Testors rattle-can I had laying around:

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And, again with my neighbor's borrowed camera, took these (only slightly) improved pics. The thick slabs sticking out - wing-like on the portside, and a smaller one to starboard - are plugging the last chinks in the pressure hull, which will not be covered by the casing. Once cured, these will be chopped off flush with the surface. But the major new progress - refinement of the aft casing terminus, rescue buoy trunk and escape trunk (see below) - can only just be glimpsed here.

It is at this point that the really big news broke: my scoring of a really decent, new camera:

How's this, in comparison to the prior pics above?!! In addition to having very good low-light sensitivity, this camera has extreme high-resolution macro capability. How high-res? Well, let's just say able to see every last dust mote and flaw (inset) - sufficient to make your works and modelling skills look quite inadequate!

Seriously though I love this detail and fidelity, which does indeed let me inspect the build - better, in many ways, than by (even the magnified) eye. Note the "oil-canning" on the pressure hull - caused by the hop of my knife, while scraping - which I think makes for an even better-looking hull than expected. Likewise for the sail, which looks even closer to refined/finished than I thought. Some of this may be due to the filling effect of the thick Testors paint - indeed, the deck planking was deliberately protected from this by aluminum tape (which nevertheless revealed the underlying texture clearly, after it was burnished down).

But now to highlight the most significant, latest progress:

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The stern is characterized by a line of vertical, cylindrical projections: aft end of the casing - now widened and chopped to a half-cone looking shape - followed immediately by the rescue buoy trunk/canister and, furthest aft, the emergency escape trunk, made of still narrower plastic tube. All three are significantly taller than would be accurate - having to drop all the way to the excessively-tapering tail - but in this way, their tops retain the correct positions relative to each other and to the deck. Meantime, an at least plausible impression for the rest of the tail will be produced with a little artistic license/optical illusion involving the vertical skeg - already started, just ahead of the escape trunk. I am quite optimistic about the expected final appearance of the tail, the most problematic part of this build.

Like many a modeller gone before, I can now announce to you my return, after long "homelessness"-induced absence from the modelling bench! And - also like many another modeller of yore - I now regale you with some truly shi**y, out-of-focus pictures - the spawn of my incompetent borrowage of my neighbor's camera:

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Sharpened as much as possible (without turning everything to complete fuzz), these should be good enough to at least give you an idea of some of the work I got in, already 3 weeks ago now. A vertical cylinder (white Plastruct tube) was attached to form the rounded aft end of the casing. The original casing of the Revell (Nautilus) mold extended further and had to be removed, the resulting triangular hole plated-over with plasticard (white). Now that this is fully cured, I can smooth and then sink a narrower Plastruct tube into its forward edge, to form the extreme-aft, emergency escape trunk.

Although the stern looks nice (my opinion), it is the most irredeemably inaccurate part of the whole kitbash. The hull should never taper narrower than the width between prop shafts (far left) - the original Revell (Nautilus) mold was simply not well suited to this part of the hull-conversion - and I judge it's just too late/too much to try and accurize this now.

So, did I decide to give up? HELL no! And so, towards the upper right (in both pics) you can now also discern, installed, the aft (standard) crew access hatchway (might help to squint your eyes) - another narrow Plastruct tube, sunk into the deck - later to accept a separate piece for the hatch itself (not shown).

Likewise, up forward I installed the other crew access hatchway, and its adjacent (to starboard) trunk:

In these pics you can again get at least the general idea - enhanced as well as I could, in the closeup inset. The shiny tape is to hold the forward deck temporarily - still a couple things to maybe slip under there, before securing it permanently. These pics also give a good idea of how straightforward it should be - should be, that is - to "drape" plasticard down from the deck onto the hull, to form the casing. The bow, though a little tricky, should be especially satisfying - and the torpedo tubes will pierce the casing, just like on the Real Deal! Meantime, the sail has progressed to an immediate "pre-master": one last molding, after minor refinements and final detailing - ladders, access hatch (open), navigation lights, etc. - and then will be cast (multiple pops of) the final, "plug-n-play" version, for this build (and more).

So, stand by for more pics - shi**y or otherwise - and maybe even some additional progress, too, as soon as I can git it! Meantime, comments - especially from you others who post fuzzy-a** pictures (you know who you are!) - welcome, as always.

Here are some cool epoxy-resin castings, created over the last several weeks:

These, of course, my first developmental castings of the S-37 sail - typical of the S-18 class (S-18 through -42), from the late '20s/'30s up through early WWII.

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Most flaws were around the base - the mold can and will be done better, for the final master.

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Which will be a refinement/completion of whichever of these beauties I decide is the very best. (Or whichever remains the best, after the inevitable re-do's and screw-ups! )

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Perhaps more than any other castings I've done so far, these really catch the light - I just love 'em - and note the interior hollows - particularly the one aft, which provides an opening under the crew access hatch (not yet present) which will be molded in the open position there.

I am also considering just how feasible it might be to mold the entire hull (when ready) - or at least, the above-waterline portion...

Entering 2010 with momentum carrying over from late '09, the basic structural elements of the sail were all in place:

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At left and center, volume shapes and (especially) the surface finishes are highlighted by silver paint, while at right, stripping all paint back off reveals where- and how these structures had been adjusted - using plasticard (white) and/or superglue-putty filler (off-white) - over the foundational plastic (gray and dark green) parts.

Soon after this point, further detailing of the sail was heavily crippled by a lack of references - some of which had been lost in a key backup crash - thus prompting another pass at photo-research, especially on the sail, however by the time this was completed, momentum was lost. The sudden onset of a blistering-hot summer, heralded by an air conditioning failure and then personal health problems, then put paid to further work on the sail until late in the year (see below).

4/25/10 Before the ravages of the very unproductive summer, some progress on the hull and deck had been achieved, in the spring:

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At left, a sort of rounded knuckle - resembling a "turn of the bilge" in what should otherwise have been a smoothly-curving hull - remained from the original construction and was deemed unacceptable. At right, the solution was to cut out and replace the knuckle with crescents of more gently-curving hull stock - "fished-in" with temporary handles of stock rod (white), later cut off flush (see below).

A start was also made on the deck:

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Made of heavy plastic plate, the deck would also serve as a structural foundation (unlike on the real thing) from which to hang the top casing down to the hull. A scale plan-view drawing was glued directly onto a plastic slab, to define and cut it out, and likewise on sections of thin "V-groove" card stock, for the overlaid (raised) planked areas.

I opted to depict coarser planking on the circular gun platform, whose reference pics indicated between about 40 to 50 planks across its central diameter. At this scale, "O"-guage car siding would provide 14 planks, 0.04" V-groove stock would provide 24 and 0.025" V-groove very near the minimum calculated - and certainly in the ballpark - at 39. Nevertheless, I judged the 0.04" V-groove looked closest to the desired texture - and the more accurate 0.025" V-groove simply too fine - but was chosen as again looking just right for the finer texture of the remaining planked deck areas.

Thus, it was in the following state that the (dry fitted) build went through the complete "power-down" of last summer:

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Clearly looking more than ever like an S-18 class boat...

12/5/10 In November and December work began slowly to resume on both the deck (not shown) and especially the sail:

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Above, by mid-December a completion strategy and corresponding detailing were in place, prior to molding for a developmental, intermediate casting. Such strategy is complicated because some details optimally go on before (the first) casting, while others are best sculpted - and all are best refined/finished - from the resin of the first casting(s). This is because additive superglue adhesives and fillers can contain pits, are relatively more brittle and tend to pop off when carved - whereas the uniform, cast resin is ideal for anything (subtractively) sculpted.

At right (despite overexposed pics), stripping the silver paint back off reveals the compositional structure - now including brass PE, cut in-place from 350-scale, 2-rail bars, to simulate the wave-guide vanes (strakes?) lining the "top boat" of the sail. Note also the preparations to make an (optionally) open crew access hatchway.

Again, all the rough spots will be far easier smoothed out of the cast resin - and of course far less risky, as any botched casting(s) can simply be replaced, with another.

So, still not (near) completed - but with major progress, and firmaly on track for a build of very high quality - as 2010 draws towards a close.

Everything looks great so far. Sorry to hear about the data loss. Perhaps these can help you:

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Here's a close up of S-29 in port.

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Here's a shot of S-32 at sea during maneuvers. Notice the bulge on the side as well as the footholds to climb up the deck.

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Here's a better shot of S-32 doing the same thing with a nice study of the four inch gun and all the drainage holes.

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Not really sure what's going on with S-48 here but it doesn't look like a captain-friendly evolution. Notice the weird perforated structure on top of the sail. Not sure what that's all about.

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Here's S-50 in port. Note the pressure-proof lockers on the side of the sail and also that weird perforated structure. Also note the railing pattern on top of the sail. Also, at the front of the sail there appears to be a hatch. Access hatch or locker hatch? Can't tell if that sailor is behind it or in it. Also note the awning rigged out and all the wiring. The masts and structures are pretty different too.

WOW! Talk about a sow's ear into a silk purse...I'd forgotten you had this project underway, I'm very much looking forward to the results. I've got a conversion plan for the Lindberg Nautilus that I've got to work out some details on (the deck will be the hardest part) but I'm going to be paying close attention on this.

Mike, I'm looking around for my Lindberg Nautilus kit - to take another look at its hull, which is very different from the Revell Nautilus (and likewise, pretty far from Nautilus herself), and try and figure out what you're trying to convert to - but I can't find it. Did I give it to you? (I thought you had requested one for Craig, but instead I had given you that Lindberg Gato, plus an Airfix Belfast.)

In any case, with the Lindberg hull it's certainly not an S-boat you are contemplating, I would venture to say. A couple posts ago you mentioned the USN Cold War SSGs - specifically GrayBack, IIRC - she could be a possibility. Am I getting at all warm?

Give us the 411 - and of course, any pic(s), if instructive - and meantime Thank You for the compliment on my S-37, buddy. I appreciate the encouragement on this long under-construction project!

Yes, sir, you did send it and two other kits most generously for Craig - he built the Lindberg 571 boat and it sits in a place of honor at his dad's house. You've seen the Gato, and he's probably going to build Belfast for the IPMS Eagle Squadron show in Cary NC next May.

My Lindberg 571 got rescued from the local flea market a year or two back (the vendor threw it in with a Revell 4-stacker), and yes indeed it is the Grayback project. Just some very quick and dirty calculations indicate that the overall dimensions are almost dead solid perfect for Grayback , and from here the sail is also almost perfect, but the biggest problems (IMHO)will be that weird deck on the kit and the distinctive SSG bow. OTOH, Barney is not all that far from being finished, so I need to make sure that gets done first.

Also, speaking of your S-37 - I have a set of plans for the old Ideal wooden kit from the 30s! I know you've probably got some serious reference material there, but if you'd like them just say the word!

Thanks for the offer of the S-boat plans, but my experience so far has convinced me practically every single boat was so uniquely fitted, at one time and another, that plans for any but S-37 - and at a particular moment (February '42), at that - would simply add more confusion than it erased. Particularly if features of multiple boats were "blended" (more or less), in "generic" plans for an S-boat model.

But again, THANKS for the offer, Mike. On a similar note, Amazon just notified me my Cressman's "Ranger" book is in the mail - thanks for steering me to it, buddy! (Oh, and speaking of which, I'll take you up on the photocopied Ranger plans, if that offer's still good, too.)

Meantime, would love to see any pics - of either the Lindberg bash or your Barney - and especially anything(s) Young Master Craig may come up with for our attention, Mike. Give him my regards and y'all have a Merry Christmas and whatever-all else (Kwanza, Festivus...?) that you're celebrating, up there!

With the ending of the year, I made a beginning on the sail. Presenting the chance to utilize a boneyard piece - ironically, precisely as designed - though its creators were no doubt completely unaware of it! I'll explain:

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The olive-green sub-assembly in the pics at left - roughly approximating the height width and, most crucially the teardrop footprint of the "boat-hat" top needed for the sail - was itself represented to be the sail of a toy u-boat model ("U-55", at right) which I once bought by mistake. (Or actually, I was duped outright by inscrutable Japanese text, alongside some decent box art of a TypeVII u-boat - however the contents, discovered inside, were exactly as depicted in the instructions above!) Simple as the kit was, many of its details nevertheless suggested patterning (at least conceptually) on some sort of actual, though relatively primitive, class of sub. I knew it was something pre-WWII, but never exactly what - until I studied the design of the S-boat sail. The kit sail not only resembles the top part of the S-boat sail but also happens to be just the right size for this particular build!

I constructed the foundation for my sail much like the real thing - a central conning tower embedded in a fin-like "foot" around the base, and the above "boat-hat" surrounding the top, the latter two connected at the front by a vertical cutwater - in the process also exploiting the chance to get some use out of the Revell SkipJack's fanciful and emminently expendable "reactor vessel" (bottom-left), for the cylindrical conning tower.

Although my drawing is of the significantly different '20s-era sail, I was pretty sure its overall length, -height and level of the viewports would all have remained unchanged for S-37, in early 1942:

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At left, you can see how well my confection matches the drawing (bottom overlay). And at right, clearly my basic layout already produced the characteristic "knight's helmet" look of the S-boat sail.

However I was not at all satisfied that it matched - or would do so, even when finished - our reference pics of the real thing, particularly the near-perfect side-profile shot:

Compared to this, my sail above - though I knew it needed some additions - just seemed like it was going wrong on many counts: top too high, forward foot too high - which would mean my viewports and aft foot were also too high - yet the latter already looking too long, for its height!

Now I don't know about you, but more and more in builds these days I'm finding I don't really know what the hell I've got, until I take a digital picture and enlarge/analyze it on a monitor. I suppose I could've just taken some key measurements of my sail vs the above reference pic, but numbers can be confused and anyway nothing says it all like a direct photo-comparison:

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Revealing not only a perfect match at the front end (within limits of the imprecise photography) - but also that the aft foot should, if anything, be yet longer still!. Plus of course the top part extended further aft, and periscope shears added, both of which I had already anticipated.

This was just excellent news and much appreciated:

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Particularly considering the high price paid by my unsuspecting fingers, as I slipped and just creamed them - multiple times - with my malevolent and anti-social chisel!

Such is the Price of Progress - but progress we have, and will see more of...

Matt - My hat is off to you for performing this "conversion" - really a wrong word because you're really "fabricating" IMHO. At almost exactly 2x the scale of my 1/350 S-26, it will be a very impressive model along side your Gato class boat!

And you're right, it's really pretty much a scratchbuild. I don't know if you saw or not, but this all started with musings on what, if anything, could be bashed from the Revell Nautilus kit - wherein I concluded the closest things were actually pre-WWI vintage boats, with the S-boats only being a stretch, "with more work". The understatement of the decade - no doubt my "Nautilus conversion" is going to wind up with about one square inch of Revell hull left showing...!

But I'm glad you like it - I'm enjoying it, too, as it is quite the learning experience. We have another guy here, "Sirago" (aka Bill A.), who's doing a similar scratchbuild of a Narwhal-class (interwar) fleet sub. I hope he'll grace us with some of his progress pics this year, too.

Oh yeah, I went back to the beginning of this thread to try and figure out how you could make a pig boat out of an SSN!!! Kevin

...or MadMan?

Posted by Matty on January 7, 2010, 10:47:56, in reply to "Visionary...."Message modified by board administrator September 14, 2012, 10:36:09

--Originally Posted 1/7/10--

Two of my favorite songs are Elton John's "Madman Across the Water" and The Beatles' "Fool on the Hill" (or maybe it was titled "World Spinning 'Round") no doubt an attempt to psychologically "hedge my bets", in case it turns out I'm just (yet) another Crazy Naked-Ape. ( I'm 51 years old and still working on an answer to that one!)

But seriously, the Revell Nautilus is, IMHO, a classic case of USGovt disinformation to (or through) a model-maker. The penultimate example being Testors' release of a bogus F-117 "Stealth Fighter" mold, whose picture was duly published in the Wall Street Journal (or maybe it was the New York Times - or maybe both) for good measure. The paper(s) generated so much hype about it that my dad even clipped the article and picture for me - which I may yet still have (somewhere under all my piles of old crap).

Before stealthy airframes, probably nothing was a more closely-guarded secret - during the height of the Cold War, mind you - than the design of a state-of-the-art, nuclear attack sub - particularly the very first one, ever! So it doesn't surprise me that the Revell Nautilus hull was inaccurate - and the Lindberg Nautilus and Renwal George Washington hulls also significantly inaccurate, to varying degrees.

The biggest surprise was that Aurora was able to roll out a remarkably accurate Skipjack-class hull - following a moderately accurate Nautilus hull, as well - though, by then the state-of-the-art SSN had progressed to the Thresher/Permit design, no plastic model of which has ever been released - even to this day!

So, you have to cut up a Dragon- or Revell Los Angeles-class mold into your own Thresher conversion, if you want one. Which brings us right back to The Mad Basher, eh?

As I began to determine the deck layout, it became obvious that aft of the sail the deck and casing were far narrower than on the Revell mold, such that large gaps would be left in the pressure hull, if not augmented. This was the last straw disqualifying the Revell deck - to be replaced entirely - after completing the pressure hull aft:

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"Fished-in" via my adopted method using plastic rod as temporarily-attached handles (left), more segments of the thick CN Alfa hull were secured in place, and held secure with masking tape while the glue set up. Afterward the tape could be removed, a dorsal spine re-establishing the deck level was added (right, at top), and the hull sprayed silver to check countours and the surface overall.

Now this hull looks even more like a whale than it did already:

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This is very satisfying but equally time-consuming, as weeks have to elapse before the new hull seams can be smoothed/filled as necessary. Meantime, I made a start on at least smoothing out all the earlier seams, at bottom-right.

Likwise, I've since learned that in the "whale-tail" the flaring termination of the hull is inaccurate - its sides should just extend straight back - so more work needed there, as well...

The plan currently is to next install a single-piece, continuous deck and, when secure, to then build the casing down from it to the pressure hull.

The crescent-shaped belly plate had to be split along the keel to best position the halves, and a final, keel piece was fished-in (top), using plastic dowel (white) as a "handle". Once secured, the dowel was then chopped off (center), flush with the keel. The more rounded belly profile now compares pretty well with my S-18 class drawing (bottom).

Time to address the top side:

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To my drawings I added a plan view of the deck (left), and removed the Revell Nautilus sail, by scribing flush with the deck. "Flush" here is kind of a relative term, as the Revell deck is steeply crowned along the centerline (right). Note it is also planked (incorrect for Nautilus); the depiction created by stacking each inboard "plank" - thus creating the crowned deck (also incorrect for Nautilus) in the first place. The cambered deck is incorrect for any S-boat, AFAIK, and moreover the match between the S-18 class and Revell deck is not a very good one. The latter widens significantly aft of where it is needed for the S-18 deck gun platform; instead presenting a large hole from the sail cutout over the after half of this area.

Strike One. But can this build make use of the Revell planking in the narrower areas further forward, and/or aft; just how much of S-37's deck was planked, and where:

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At left, two pictures (top) show, from left-to-right, front-to-back, S-36, -39. -42, -37 & -41, sometime in the early '30s. Judging by their appearances, S-37's deck was no doubt identical to S-36', which at full resolution (insets) is clearly seen to be planked on- and immediately forward of the gun platform. An overhead shot of S-37 from October, 1924 (bottom) is too grainy to define planks, but does confirm similar texture and brightness over the entire deck, with notable exceptions of the very dark circular gun platform and extreme forward- and aft deck tips; undoubtedly painted black.

However a closeup of S-37 from October, 1923 (right), shows a section of aft deck having no evidence of planking whatsoever; it is easily close enough to show individual planks, whose complete absence proves that at least the after third of her deck was, at that time, all-steel. For our depiction of S-37 in February, 1942, can we then assume her decks were, except for at the extreme ends, completely planked from 1923 onwards?

Not necessarily, it would seem:

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At left, a pic from April, 1941 shows, from left-to-right S-37's close siblings S-30, -32 and -33 - again, appearing to be very near if not identical to each other. At full-resolution (inset), planking is unmistakeable on S-32's gun platfrom - again, uniquely painted (or stained) black - yet not clearly definable on the closer, lighter-colored deck which extends from there forward to ahead of the crew access hatch. Forward of which - at the bow tip formerly painted black on S-37 - the deck clearly transitions to rivetted and perforated steel, as expected. So, did only the gun platform receive planking, on some boats - or did they all have the rest of the deck planking removed by 1941? Or, was heavier planking substituted on the gun platforms only, by 1941? (Or some combination of all three?)

The only other clue found so far is in a picture of S-44 (right), immediately after her major refit in January, 1943, wherein the coarse, gun-deck planking can be glimpsed at far right, to continue aft, going towards (and presumably beyone) the sail. The Revell deck might be useful for depicting such heavy planking, except - maddeningly - it is insufficient at exactly this location!

I am about ready to conclude that, early in WWII there were two basic fits for the S-18 class: one with only the gun platform planked, as (possibly_ on S-32, above; and the other with the entire deck heavily planked, as on S-44, above. But then, which would be more accurate for S-37, in February of 1942? The World (Still) Wonders...

But wait - it gets worse:

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Preparing for major if not total deck replacement, at left I glued a pair of plates to the aft supporting pillar (top), making a bracket to sandwich-in a long central beam (bottom); to support the new deck. But exactly what shape deck? Note on my deck drawing the dashed circle around forward hatch; it was prompted by pics at right which show S-37 (top) and S-41 (middle) with flaring hull bulges forward - no doubt to accommodate a forward escape trunk under the hatch. Although the former pic is undated, note both show all-black - i.e., wartime - paint jobs. And the S-41 pic dates from 1942. Meantime a pic of S-35 from May, 1943 (bottom) - again, after her major refit - shows no such bulge forward of her gun platform. So, did S-35 just never get one of these trunks - or could they have been added and then removed again by mid-war? The lines in my drawing remain dotted....

Which brings us to the largest remaining set of "dotted lines" for this build:

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As launched, the S-18 class hull casing aft (top-left) ended in a long fin, called a "skeg"; connecting the deck with the top of the rudder. The closeup of S-37 from October, 1923 (top-right) confirms she had one. However, even before the '30s, these skegs began to be cut down (center-left drawing), and ultimately were all but eliminated - replaced by a blunt, rounded termination of the casing, trailed by an after escape trunk, as seen on S-35 by May of 1943 (center). At bottom, I plotted in this wartime fit on my drawing - though not the line of modernized limber holes, which you may also note in the photo.

But the latter was not the only possible appearance for this class during WWII:

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Five additionaly possibilities - one of which is almost certainly accurate for S-37, in 2/42. At top-left, the aft casing simply chopped at a raked angle, was purportedly S-42's aft "Outline During War", as shown. This type of casing appears, in an undated pic at top-right, on S-36 as well as her squadron mates - including S-37 somewhere in there - moored behind. Drawings undoubtedly more accurate for this fit are at upper center-left and center-left; the former attributed to S-42 as early as 1925, and the latter purportedly "generic" for the class. At upper center-right, an undated pic of S-37 in all-black (presumed) wartime paint has an obviously chopped aft casing - though the view and sloping side prevents determination of the precise angle. However it does show a small rudder-top light post consistent with the S-42 drawing. Likewise, at lower center-right a 1942 pic of S-41 - in overall black and with forward escape trunk bulge, just as S-37, above - exhibits a raked-chopped fit of the aft casing.

The above would seem conclusive if not for the undated pic at bottom-right, showing S-37 - again, in overall black and now moored outboard her siblings, all of whom appear to have vertical chopped casings. While grainy and dark, the pic suggests resemblance more to the drawings at lower-left; the upper depicting S-22 in 6/41, and the lower S-44, after her '43 refit. Note both include the small, rudder-top light post, consistent with the other S-37 pic, above. Certainly we've found "the ballpark" for S-37, in 2/42 - between the two, I'd choose the 6/41 (S-22) drawing as being closest in time.

To sum up, this is a Pain in The Aft Casing still with nothing really certain - except that I'm gonna paint it black! But of course I'm going to push ahead anyway - stay tuned for that...

Between last weekend and this one, I got in quite a bit more on this build:

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At left, chinks remaining between the hull plates were shored up with wedges of plasticard (white, some gray), glued in to make for a much stronger construction than relying solely on putty and/or glue. Afterwards, the excess protrusions are simply chopped off (see below).

The above strengthening laid the foundation for the next step (right), in which the too-deep belly joint was removed within the rough ellipse shown. Replacement was with a smoothly rounded hull scrap - again, from the sacrificial CN Alfa - with some bending/compression to optimize the fit. This required taping (bottom), and while the glue was left to harden I first plugged holes in both the deck and keel, and then began the aft hull extension; using partial 1/48 scale drop-tank halves, one on each side, scavenged from the parts box.

That was all last weekend; this weekend I resumed work on the tail area:

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Attempting to create a combined hull extension and "whale-flukes" tail all in one, at left I sandwiched together three plates, the voids betweent them to be filled with putty. However I didn't think this through sufficiently (right); filling in the gaps between the fluke leading edges (top) - which should either have been left unfilled, then cut partially free and squeezed together - or been created as part of the middle plate in the first place. At this point, the best recovery was to remove first the top leading edges and the putty underneath (bottom-left), and replace them with mid-level extensions (center- and bottom right). Once secured and shaped to follow the lower flukes plates, the latter could be removed everything strengthened/faired in with putty (see below).

At some point I realized this build is a helluva lot of work - even when you're not screwing up and having to redo sh......! (Again, approximating a D- or F-class boat would be much easier.) Still, one nice thing about so many required modifications is, while glue hardens on one there is always another where work can proceed:

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Accordingly, next the bow extension foundation - this time in the form of a vertical plate, flanked by two pair of torpedo tubes - was laid in, securing very nicely into the torpedo doors opeing of the Revell mold. At bottom, note the smoothed belly, plus tail- and nose extensions push the resemblance ever closer to that of an S18-boat.

With the bow foundation assembly firming up, I returned to the tail:

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At left, note the alternation between remaining plasticard (white) and putty (cream colored), laid in heavily both on the bottom (top-left) and top (top-right) surfaces. All of which will be sculpted/thinned into the final stabilizers, which already look remarkably like an actual whale's tail (bottom).

In fact, the entire hull strongly resembles a particular type of large porpoise - a pilot whale (Globicephala species; the so-called "BlackFish", though of course whales, dolphins and porpoises are not fish) - and the resemblance to a marine mammal is even stronger absent the sail and deck; when viewed along the keel, as shown at right.

OK - enough dreaming about whales (it probably would've been easier to bash this kit into a whale! ) - I will probably hold off on further tail additions, all of which are rather delicate, pending more heavy lifting required by the bow- and deck modifications. Stay tuned for those...

I can see that there is a significant difference between building "out of the box" and "thinking out of the box". I'm impressed. When you started this project I was thinking "silk purse out of pig's ear" and I thought "Matty's gone over the edge". I'm looking forward to your next progrep.

Phil, I went over the edge a long, long time ago, buddy! And when you do go over the edge, your head explodes and will never, ever fit back into "The Box" again.

That's why Fascists and authoritarians of all stripes despise out-of-the-box thinkers - and can't do it, themselves, worth a damn. Hitler was a great example; one of his classic, "out-of-the-box" ideas having been to allocate the revolutionary Me-262 jet fighter to bombing ops - evidently for their retaliatory/terror potential - at a time when Allied carpet-bombing was turning Germany's cities into charnel houses! (Terror begetting Terror, begetting Terror...as opposed to defense.) A Wrong Move, to say the least.

Meantime, he was blocking fast-track production of the Type XXI blue-water sub - a truly quantum leap forward in submarine engineering, whose design would still instruct the Allies, 15 years after capturing some - the early deployment of which could seriously have influenced the war. A yet more stupendously Wrong Move, if ever there was one!

And of course, the list goes on: "Hey Guys - let's simultaneously attack Russia and declare war on the USA - even while our plan to subdue England is going off the rails..." A Bad Idea - and more than a little akin to the present-day example of: "Hey Guys - let's give ethically degenerate investment banks 10 times the money they just lost making bad loans, so we can prop up an 'economy' based on unpayable loans!" (Anyone who actually believes this kleptocrat/corporate lie, after taking a good look at it, is just a moron. Buy gold bullion - now, while the price is down.)

Oh my (the downside of the mind out-of-the-box is that it is completely free to wander)! To return to the subject: Thank You for the compliments, Phil - this could be the build that winds up in a JaxCon competition - I'm glad you're enjoying it, and hope to impress you further, buddy!

S-37 (SS-142) was one of the Asiatic Fleet subs caught in the Philippines at the outbreak of WWII:

Forced to fall back with her squadron and regroup at Soerabaja, Java, there she and her compatriots drew a defensive line against the advancing Japanese, such that, on 2/8/42, she intercepted a convoy of IJA troop transports, escorted by 4 IJN DDs.

Unable to get in position for a shot at the transports, she loosed a single torpedo each at the 4 DDs in quick succession, as a sort of parting gesture before diving to save her own very vulnerable hide. Or so it seemed to me, reading her DANFS history. Incredibly, one of the obsolescent S-boat's even more obsolete, excruciatingly slow MkX torpedoes found its mark squarely amidships the Kagero-class DD Natsushio, breaking her back and sinking her in short order.

Thus, S-37 won the distinction of being the first USN sub to sink an IJN DD in WWII - and her master, Lt.Cdr. James Dempsey, a rare example of a USN sub skipper applying his weapons system with sufficient aggression, which was sorely lacking in the submarine service in those early, demoralized days of the Pacific War.

So, let's build S-37!

S-37 was an S-18 class boat; LOA=230.75'; beam=20.67':

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Since the precise length is easily adjustable through the substantial additions required both fore- and aft, the determining factor regarding scale will be - as usual - the beam of the mold. At 1.467" the beam of the Revell Nautilus indicates a scale of 1:169 for this S-boat conversion. When I saw that number, I almost fell off my chair, as it's only 5% larger than the scale of the Revell Lionfish fleet-boat mold, at 1:178! So, accepting a discrepancy of 0.074" too much beam - an error so small it isn't even worth correcting, at this scale - I printed some S-18 class plans (top) at a scale of 1:178. Thus, the build will be 15.56" long - and 100% compatible for display alongside the classic Revell Gato.

However, note also the belly of the Revell Nautilus does not drop down nearly as far as on the S-boat, and so has to be deepened, which I undertook to do in 3 major segments; chopped and repositioned in two major steps:

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Marking (top) for these cuts was facilitated by two waterlines already in the mold: an upper, and a lower one, scribed rather deeply. In Step 1 (middle), a cut from amidships along the lower line, and removal of a large wedge forward (red), allows the forward hull to be rotated on a pivot-point (black-and-white wedges) to drop its belly down to the required depth (see below).

Once the forward end is secured in its new position, Step 2 (bottom) involves a cut along the upper waterline, starting circa the 13th-14th limber hole aft of sail, and removal of a wedge from there aft (red), to scissors the entire aft end (excluding the deck) down like an accordion; with the top pivoting on the forward point, and bottom on the aft point. A 0.3" high spacer under the very aft tip of the deck sets up the geometry to drop the entire configuration by the right amount.

The large gaps opened up in both the above steps were "plated" in with hull pieces from the spares box (see below) which had similar curvature:

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Although I went perhaps a hair too deep in the belly, you can see that - even with modern sail still attached - we are already in the ballpark, and the Revell Nautilus now strongly resembles a pig-boat. Note also the line of limber holes aft are approximately right for an S-18 boat - and removal of the wedge aft has left the stern flattened (bottom right); exactly what is needed for the "whale fluke" stern of this class. (Note I was wrong when I concluded, earlier, that this type of stern was discontinued with the S-4 class.)

OK fine - but, you ask, where do you seemingly by magic come up with the crucial, extra hull pieces:

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From China, that's where! In this case, the CN-brand, 1:200 scale Alfa mold (identical to their 1:300 scale Akula mold), which is (or at least, once was) both very cheap and - by virtue of its relative crudeness - expendable for just such purposes, IMHO. I particularly like these CN hulls, as the plastic is soft - think: just a bit harder than Airfix - and thick, which is a tremendous advantage in subsequent fairing/shaping. However, any hull pieces with sufficiently gradual curvature would suffice - followed by minimal puttying to correct the mismatch (as will be required in this case, as well).

OK so, we're off and running to build a decent representation of S-37. Now to finsih her, in less than a year!